ngly heavy when she got out of the pool.

"It's pretty good that you're able to do this much on the second day."

Nina said.

Despite everything, Felli had succeeded in using a kickboard while breathing, and had swam half the pool length at a time, so it was great progress.

"Good work."

After he walked over to them, Sharnid gave Felli and Nina sports drinks.

"You.... You're still here."

Though talking was bothersome, she felt happy about the drink. Felli gratefully took the sports drink.

"No no no, I happened to be taking a break just now."

Sharnid's body was certainly still dripping wet. Was he swimming in another pool? Felli hadn't been paying attention to that at all while she practiced, so she didn't know what Sharnid had been doing.

But considering the cheers of female students and how Sharnid also replied to them, Felli felt like he wasn't just diligently swimming.

"Hey, do you want to eat something?"

"Uh, well.... I don't have time."

"How about you go to the spa and get a massage? If you keep practicing like this, your muscles will definitely hurt, you know."

"Oh, that's a good idea. The medicinal low-frequency bath here is good at relaxing your muscles."

"Oh, you're a frequent user, huh."

"I use it here when I have the time."

Nina put on a somewhat proud expression, and it was decided that Felli and the others were going to the spa.

The spa was underground.

After taking off her clothes in the changing room and wrapping herself with a towel, Felli walked into the bath. Unlike the humid, warm air of the swimming pool, the air here was hot and full of steam.

"Over here."

After washing herself, she was brought to an area secluded from the other areas by wooden walls.

"Uh...."

This place was filled with a scent other than the aroma produced by steam touching the wood.

"This is...."

There was a narrow tub in the dimly-lit room, and the hot water filling it made Felli's eyes widen.

The rich and peculiar aroma itself was already surprising, and even the hot water was jet-black.

The explanation on the wall read that a mix of several herbs was dissolved in the hot water.

(I see....)

Felli understood what the 'medicinal' Nina had mentioned meant.

"It also has low-frequency waves going through it, so don't be scared. Careful not to slip."

"Okay."

Nina touched the hot water with her foot first, then submerged herself to her shoulders. After seeing her sigh softly with an expression of comfort, Felli also entered the hot water.

A slippery feeling came to her feet, and Felli knew very clearly that there was some kind of rich substance mixed in here that was not ordinary hot water.

After she submerged her whole body, that slippery feeling made Felli inadvertently shiver. The slow low-frequency waves gently stimulated her whole body.

After coming close to the hot water, the intense scent of herbs rushed into her nostrils.

"It feels weird before you get used to it, so take your time. You can get rid of your fatigue if you soak long enough. It's surprisingly effective."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah...."

Nina closed her eyes with a relaxed expression from next to her. Felli indeed had the feeling that the medicine was slowly seeping into the gaps of her muscles as the low-frequency waves stimulated her, and it felt a bit comfortable. That said, the scent was still a bit off-putting.

"So this is the secret behind your unnecessary energy."

"What do you mean, unnecessary...."

Nina started to say something, but it quickly turned into a wry smile.

"It's because health is the most important thing. Don't look at me like that, pay attention to managing my health. Since I'm the captain, I can't be taking time off all the time."

"But if the people on top don't take breaks, the people under them can't take breaks either. Please keep it reasonable, Captain."

"You all still take time off however you like, right? Be more diligent."

Those words were true - Felli fell silent.

"....Well, it's finally a holiday, so we don't have to talk about that today."

"Yeah, I think that's fine."

But once they didn't talk about the platoon, their opportunities to talk also vanished. That said, it didn't feel particularly troublesome. Felli didn't hate quiet time, and Nina who came here often didn't have the kind of personality to fear silence.

As a result, no awkward atmosphere formed between the two of them, and they spent the time in silence.

◇

She faced this commotion after changing her clothes in the changing room.

"Then, let's go eat something."

After changing clothes, Felli let Nina walk half a step before her as she thought about how to respond to that. Just then, a chaotic sound came from across the changing room.

It was the sound of glass shattering, and it was very loud.

The uproarious, dangerous sound transformed Nina's expression, and she rushed out of the changing room. Felli also followed behind her.

In front of the changing room was the narrow hallway that divided males from females, and the front desk of the baths were on the other side. Though it was partially automated, there were students and maintenance workers there.

When Felli and the others entered, those female workers had been grabbed by a brawny man.

There were also several other men.

"Hey! What are you doing!?"

Nina roared.

None of them seemed like students of Zuellni. The biggest problem was the restored Dites held in their hands.

"Captain....!"

Felli immediately judged that roar to be too careless. Nina also quickly noticed that, so her expression twisted. Nina had brought her Dite. But before entering the bath, she had left the Dite at the front desk.

"No one move!"

The man who looked like the leader threatened the students who had heard the commotion.

"You're hostages from now on. We're not going to harm you if you don't act rashly.

His voice was very rational, and just that made Felli feel like this situation would be very troublesome. The opponents wouldn't give them any room to take action.

The intruders made the customers around them move in front of the front desk and surrounded them. Felli and Nina followed their instructions as well.

Felli slowly hid in Nina's shadow as she moved. She rapidly worked her brain. Nina was already being watched. No, Nina would have been watched even if she hadn't spoken up. It looked like these people were Military Artists who had come here via roaming bus, so it shouldn't be difficult for them to recognize Nina as a Military Artist.

In that case, what could Felli do while Nina was being watched? What exactly was going on?

Felli thought about this.

The glass in front of the front desk was shattered. The intruders had broken in from there. This wasn't the first floor, and considering that their Dites had been restored before they broke in, it was probably reasonable to believe that they had probably been in some fight and had then fled here.

Who were they fleeing from?

(It's obvious.)

Felli wanted to relax sometimes too. She had come to this health resort in such an unexpected manner, but this kind of commotion had happened. It made Felli quietly sigh.

As if answering her speculation, an amplified voice reached the room through the broken window.

"You're already surrounded!"

She had heard this voice before, though not enough to get used to it. He was the boss of one of Layfon's workplaces, a higher-up of the city police.

She remembered that his name was Formed.

"We have hostages!"

The man who seemed to be the leader replied loudly.

"We demand a guarantee of safety until the roaming bus arrives! We'll guarantee the safety of the hostages once we get a clear promise. If not...."

The men looked towards Felli and the other hostages with dangerous lights in their eyes. Frightened voices rose up. There was a violent presence in the eyes of these people backed into a corner.

"Hold on!"

Formed's voice stripped the men of these looks.

Felli had grasped the general situation from the negotiations between Formed and the criminals.

It looked like they were a group of information thieves mainly targeting Zuellni's Aquaculture Department. The person who was chiefly responsible for the theft had already been arrested, and they seemed to be his guards. But it seemed like these men had fled when their crimes had been revealed, and hence they must not have been so unified.

The city police had chased after the fugitives and the situation had turned into this.

They would become sacrifices.

"Zuellni is an Academy City. As long as nothing outrageous happens, we won't forcefully evict you from the city. Your lives are already guaranteed. Doing something like this is equivalent to signing your own death warrant!"

Formed's proclamation seemed to shake the men up quite a bit.

In this enclosed city, criminals had nowhere to go when there were no roaming buses, regardless of how they resisted. Ignoring cities like Joeldem that were hubs of transportation, criminal groups that didn't have personal roaming buses would generally wait for opportunities when roaming buses were coming before taking action. But that had failed, and they could only put up pointless resistance until they were arrested.

Waiting in front of them was the danger of a battle occurring or death by forced eviction.

The criminals only wore such cornered looks because they realized that.

However, thought it was only by a small amount, Formed's statement succeeded in relieving the pressure from them.

(Right now is the time to act, but--)

But if things successfully developed in this direction, they might surrender without her having to act.

Maybe they wouldn't surrender.

She would have to prepare for those circumstances. This wasn't a feeling of responsibility as a Military Artist, nor was it for her own safety.... No, it was for her own safety.

Nina was standing in a place she could protect Felli and her back gave off the feeling that she was desperately trying to conceal her desire to act. Nina would definitely stand up to protect the students here if they gave up on everything. That wasn't because Nina was a Military Artist, it was because of her personality.

(At the least, I should first clearly find out where Captain's Dite is.)

But she would have to use Psychokinesis to do that. Even if she didn't have a Dite to use as an amplification device, Felli could use easily her basic Psychokinesis to locate its position from this kind of distance. But if she were noticed, everything would be over. Felli's Psychokinetic ability had always been extremely outstanding, and if she focused without using a Dite and released her Psychokinesis without properly controlling the output, her hair would react to her Psychokinesis and glow.

(I have to use my Psychokinesis cautiously.)

Felli carefully prepared to release her Psychokinesis....

"Hey, what are you doing!?"

A man looked over and shouted.

"Huh?"

Coming to her senses, Felli was surprised by her own condition, and Nina also showed a surprised expression as she turned around. Some of her hair that drooped over her shoulder and down her chest also entered her vision.

Her hair was glowing.

She had just planned on using a small amount of Psychokinesis, but her hair was letting off a dazzling light as if she were using her full Psychokinetic power. Felli was rarely like this even in normal battles.

"This...."

But Felli immediately closed her mouth.

She understood.

In that short moment, Felli understood everything about this floor's entire situation, the positions of people, and even the reasons that had made her feel suspicious a few days before.

"Forty degrees to the left!"

She looked at Nina's eyes and shouted.

Nina understood from just that. Felli's eyes couldn't catch the rapid movement of Military Artists, so she used Psychokinesis to track their movements.

Nina moved. The shockwave she released broke apart the desk, and the belongings placed underneath flew out.

Among the things was a Dite. Nina's Dite.

The Dite that flew out along with pieces of the desk was stored in a weapon belt. It hit the wall and bounced back. Nina reached out as it to take it, and the criminals around them swung their weapons to try to stop her.

Something that hampered the criminal's movements happened almost simultaneously with Nina's movement.

"Ah!"

"Uwah!"

There were two screams from the collision. A similar number of bodies falling to the ground also resounded at the same time as the voices.

In the other direction from the changing room - in front of the elevator, Sharnid released his Sakkei, put aside his sniper-type Dite, and closed in while restoring his pistol Dites.

The remaining three were unable to communicate their intents, so they weren't even able to cooperate. They froze there, unable to decide who would deal with what.

Nina had grabbed her Dite in this period of time. She kicked off the wall across from the front desk to change direction, then shouted the restoration keyword and charged at the criminals.

Nina charged at the man resembling the leader, while Sharnid charged at the other two.

"Bastards!"

The man resembling the leader shouted this and swung an axe-type Dite at Nina.

Nina blocked the axe with her left iron whip and pushed it away after landing. She used that force to spin her body, circling behind her opponent's back. As expected of a trained Military Artist, Nina's opponent didn't let her do this. He moved forward with a slightly broken stance, stopping Nina's attack. Nina wasn't able to continue her attack, so she took up a stance again.

Before the dust had time to settle, they charged again.

That was how it appeared.

The man moved, and Nina moved forward as well.

Nina jumped, taking a stance for a reckless strike from above. The man grinned at this completely-unguarded attack as he prepared to counter.

But he was suddenly hit in the back.

"Guah!"

A paralyzing sensation shot through his body at the same time as he felt the impact. It was a paralyzing bullet.

Sharnid was the one who shot the bullet. He had dealt with the two other Military Artists and used a free moment to shoot a bullet into their boss's unguarded back.

But that action also showed a clear opening in Sharnid, who was pressed hard dealing with two people.

But the two of them also fell to the floor because of an impact from behind.

This time Nina was the one to attack. Her move to try a big attack from above had been a feint, and she had used that movement to throw her left and right iron whips.

"Well, that's a victory through trust."

Sharnid grinned after shooting paralyzing bullets into the two fallen on the floor just in case.

"It's something that guys who sell out their companions and run away could never learn."

"Don't make it sound that simple."

Nina regulated her heavy breathing as she picked up her iron whips.

"I was worrying the whole time about whether you'd do what I was thinking. Since you always slack off as soon as we begin training."

"Didn't I say, the talented hawk hides its claws."

"You hide them too much, honestly...."

The men from the city police came to the scene as a peaceful atmosphere formed.

◇

"So, you knew?"

Formed had left after briefly praising Felli's resourcefulness. Afterwards, Felli had asked this of the two of them.

"What do you mean?"

After sighing at the Nina's feigned ignorance, Felli looked behind them.

"Was this planned?"

Karian was there.

"There was no choice. I thought something like this would only when you were a child, but it did all of a sudden."

"Even so...."

And why had Karian claimed that he was fatigued in order to conceal Felli's condition and get her to a health resort?

As Felli felt suspicious, Karian explained:

"Also, if I let you stay that way, you'd continuously infringe on the privacy of others. Do you get it? Over there is apartment-style housing, it's not as large as the house back in our hometown."

"Ugh...."

Felli could only remain silent when he said this.

"Hey hey hey, wasn't that kind of boastful?"

"Shut up."

Nina and Sharnid's quiet words reached her.

She didn't hear them with her ears, but instead sensed them with her Psychokinesis.

She was currently suppressing her Psychokinesis, and her hair wasn't glowing either.

Felli's Psychokinetic ability was far greater than normal Psychokinesists. Though this was the main reason Felli had been called a Psychokinesis prodigy, it was more accurate to say that was due to the fact that she could control such tremendous Psychokinesis.

But that Psychokinesis hadn't been under complete control when she had been born. Information would always randomly present itself in her mind. Felli had just ignored that information when she was still a toddler who didn't understand things, but that information confused her when she learned more about the world. It surpassed her mental capacity and made her thinking ability decline and become shockingly slow.

The current Felli was only here because she had conquered that.

"It's pretty bad to talk about other people's secrets."

"I couldn't just say nothing."

But it was natural for Felli to constantly release Psychokinesis. It was pretty difficult for Felli to control her Psychokinesis and continuously suppress it from being released.

So before she had come here, her controlling ability would sometimes weaken and her Psychokinesis would constantly flow out. At the time, Felli would hear voices from places she couldn't hear, and see things from places she couldn't see. Sometimes she would even spend the entire day spacing out, unable to muster any energy.

Those situations slowly became infrequent after ten years, and she had already been completely cured before coming to Zuellni. Or at least Felli thought so.

But she didn't think that she would have that condition again now....

"Coming here was an emergency measure. There are living quarters here and not many people who use them. Well. Although it was just as a precaution, I arranged for no guests to be around your room."

Even so, Felli had still heard Karian and Nina's conversation. Karian had probably explaining the details to Nina at that time.

"Hmm.... Well, it was honestly just a coincidence that I came here. I only tried the swimming practice because the President said that it would be good to tire you out.... Uh, sorry."

Nina lowered her head.

But Felli didn't particularly want Nina to apologize. She knew that she was actually blushing in embarrassment.

She just glared at Karian.

"Don't be that mad."

Felli slowly breathed out. Perhaps wrongfully believing that Felli had rid herself of her anger, Karian approached her.

"....You definitely wouldn't understand."

He definitely wouldn't be able to understand that, to Felli, this kind of embarrassment was like what other people would feel if they were still wetting the bed at this age.

She just silently kicked Karian's shin as hard as she could.